


Bonfire Night

by JosieRuby1



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bonfire, Bonfire Night, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, eighth year, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 06:16:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21315547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JosieRuby1/pseuds/JosieRuby1
Summary: It's Bonfire Night during their eighth year and everyone is gathered for the bonfire and fireworks - completely with relationship talk.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom/Blaise Zabini
Comments: 2
Kudos: 69





	Bonfire Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SarahShunpike](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahShunpike/gifts).

> Happy Birthday Sarah - You may not be British but you still have a seasonal birthday.

The smell of burning in the air was one of positivity now. Although it choked a little though who were too close to it, it was also a reassuring feeling of warmth. It meant only one thing. It was November Fifth. The eighth-year students at Hogwarts had put together a bonfire to celebrate. Whether they were celebrating the muggle parliament not being blown up over 400 years ago or whether they were celebrating the continuation of their lives really didn't matter. What mattered in that moment was that they were together. They were warm and connected and they were together.

The bonfire burned high into the air, thick logs and thin kindling as well as a few spells promised this bonfire to go on long, long into the night. The students gathered around it. Old enemies stood together as friends and in some cases even as partners now. There were times when Slytherin and Gryffindor standing together felt like an impossibility, but such rivalries felt futile and meaningless now. They were something the younger students could continue if they really wanted to, but something these young adults had well and truly let go of. They had all been through hell, together and apart, they had seen things that no one should have to see, fought things that no one should have to fight, lost things no one should have to lose but at the end of it, they had survived.

Amongst those in the crowd was, of course, Harry Potter. It hadn't been his idea to have this celebration but when his boyfriend had the idea, he had been more than willing to help with the preparations. Something that wasn't related to the battle, something that was about just being together without having to think about the pain was exactly what he needed, and most importantly - thanks to McGonagall's fights with the Daily Prophet - something that was away from the eyes of the media. Harry's boyfriend was stood in front of him, Harry's arms around him, holding him close as the slimmer boy shivered slightly against the cold November air. Draco Malfoy had always hated the cold and warding it off for him now was not only Harry's arms around him but also a Gryffindor scarf wrapped many times around his neck.

"How did this even happen again?" Ron asked, nudging Harry and gesturing between the two of them. There was no bitterness in his best friend's voice. Of course, Ron had had concerns, many people had, but they were all too aware of the need for a fresh start and new chances. It was a clean slate for everyone. It had to be.

Harry could only smile. It was a short story technically, but it was also one that - in a way - dragged all the way back to the day of their sorting. Still. He knew how to keep it short when telling it. Draco turned his head slightly to watch Harry as the other launched into it.

"Me and Malfoy getting together isn't that interesting a story, what's much more interesting is the way Hermione found out about it." Harry said, causing Hermione to roll her eyes and bury her face in her scarf.

"That's hardly fair," She complained, and Ron squeezed her hand in support.

_Returning to Hogwarts after the war had been a tough decision for all involved. Many hadn’t returned and all who had could completely understand their reasoning. Hogwarts to a lot of people didn't feel like the safe haven it once had. But for many, it still was, for many it was a home away from home, and for others still it was the only true home they knew and one they weren't yet willing to give up. Harry and Draco had both returned for that reason, one without parents and one with parents too distant and distracted to actually do the parenting job, they needed Hogwarts, they needed the chance to redo their final year. They needed the chance to still be... not children, that ship had long sailed for them, but to at least not have the responsibilities and pressures of adult life. _

_Harry had been the one to bridge the gap between him and Draco, instantly speaking to him when he saw him in the Eighth Year' common room, and even going as far as to begin the conversation with "I want to thank you." There was a clear uncertainty in Harry's words, rubbing the back of his neck in nerves as he spoke. "When I was in the manor... You easily could have given me up and you didn't. That's probably the only reason I wasn't killed on the spot. So yeah, thank you."_

_Draco had been as thrown as Harry was by the conversation, and as uncertain how to continue it. He could give a simple 'you’re welcome' and walk away, but after everything that didn't feel like enough. "I had to." He shrugged, "I couldn't just... let everything fail in that moment. I know..." Draco had been scratching at the sleeve over his arm, scratching at the Death Mark on his skin, "I know I did so terrible shit, but I never believed in all that. I just... It's sounds like a crappy excuse I know but I didn't have a choice."_

_Harry nodded. "Yeah. I know." And he did. If there was one thing Harry knew it was about being forced into something without a choice. Harry had been forced into the battle, forced to be everyone's hero and saviour from the moment he was born really according to the prophecy. From the moment he entered Hogwarts he had been a pawn to be used for the battle. He wanted to help, of course, but even if he hadn't wanted to, he would have had to. Just like Draco did on the wrong say. _

_"You don't have to say that you know, I was fighting against you, against everyone, you should be, I dunno yelling at me about it or something." Draco frowned and Harry had wondered when the last time someone had been genuinely kind to Draco. "You shouldn't be being... Nice."_

_"I'm not gonna yell at you for doing what your family basically trained you to do," Harry said. "Merlin, Malfoy, you defied Voldemort when he was practically living in your house."_

_Draco had winced at the use of the name, but Harry couldn't stop using it. The name had no power now and people had to be responsible for taking away the power that they believed it to still have._

_After that conversations between Harry and Draco had been easier. The lot of them who had returned to Hogwarts had banded together, protective of each other, needing each other. There was something about shared trauma that either brought people together or tore them apart and they were all glad to have been pulled together because of it. Regularly in the common room there were game nights, Fire Whiskey that someone or other had slipped into the grounds was drunk and dumb games like Truth or Dare were played. They pushed each other, they embarrassed each other. And that was how it had happened, during one of those games._

_"Alright, Malfoy, truth or dare," Pansy had said. _

_Draco smirked at her, clearly not afraid of anything she was going to come up with. "Dare."_

_"I dare you to kiss Potter." Pansy was smirking right back at him, and a gasp went through the room, followed by Harry going a little bit red._

_Draco coughed to hide any embarrassment he might had been feeling about the dare but shrugged. "Fine, but I don't think Potter is going to want to be kissed and I'm not about to kiss someone who doesn't want to be." He told her._

_All eyes were on Harry then and he longed for his cloak so he could literally disappear from that conversation. But since he had to respond he just sighed and said. "Potter doesn't mind, I suppose." He really really didn't mind but he didn't want to let anyone in that room know how much he wanted it._

_Draco's eyes widened at the words and crawled across the circle until he was right in front of Harry. He leaned forward quickly and pecked his lips before pulling back, the pair of them staring at each other, both red, both wide eyed. Harry leaned forward again and kissed him again, letting it linger this time. There was a chorus of 'ooooh's from around the room, but neither of them took any notice._

_There had to be a discussion of course, but that evening didn't bring it, that evening the pair could barely remove those lips from each other’s let alone have a serious conversation, but in the end it came. The next morning when they woke with killer headaches and vague memories._

_"I... should we talk about... you know?" Draco asked, uncertainly, trying to hide his smile at Harry's ridiculous bed hair. It seemed like it was genuinely impossible for the boy to get his hair to do anything tidy, but it was endearing, it was one of the many things Draco liked about Harry._

_Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I guess, we should. Unless you just want to go back to it." He added it with a teasing tone, trying not to seem as awkward about all of this than he felt. He had dated Ginny for a while, of course, and he had had crushes before, but he had never expected anything to come of his vague interest in Draco Malfoy._

_“I like you,” Draco said quickly, as though he was going to chicken out if he didn’t say it fast. “Like a lot… I mean kissing you was great, of course, but I’d like to… I dunno… you’re probably not interested, maybe we shouldn’t talk about this.”_

_Draco had turned to leave, and Harry grabbed his arms, “I’d be very interested, dummy,” He told him. “And when we both don’t have hangovers; we’ll go out somewhere.”_

Neville looked at Hermione and Ron when Harry finished his story, "You should consider yourself lucky that you weren't there for that game's night and didn't have to watch these two sucking face for the rest of the evening," He said, shuddering a little, although his expression was playful.

"Oh please, Granger and Weasley were probably off sucking face themselves elsewhere," Draco said, smirking over at them.

Ron went as red as his hair, but Hermione only rolled her eyes. "We were in the library actually," Hermione told them. "Some of us are still here to learn."

"What I really want to know is how did Hermione find out about it?" Neville asked, cutting in before any more snipe would pass between Draco and Hermione. "Harry you said that was more interesting than you guys actually getting together."

Hermione groaned, "It really isn't that interesting a story." She insisted, knowing already that it was going to be told anyway.

_Harry and Draco had both known that when Hermione found out they were dating, there would be a lot of questions, but worse than that she would likely sit them down and discuss in depth the pros and cons of them being in a relationship and how they should think about this super seriously before going forward with it. Neither of them wanted to deal with that and both of them thought it was none of her business, so they decided they wouldn't just tell her. They would instead mess with her a bit at first. When they knew she was going to be coming into the common room soon, they had stood a few feet away from each other in the centre of the room, their expressions one of fury at each other. _

_"I knew it was a bad idea thinking I could trust a Malfoy," Harry snapped as the door opened as Hermione walked in with a huge pile of books in her hands. _

_Draco huffed, "Oh yes, of course, Perfect Potter never makes mistakes and therefore gets to drag everyone else's up," He replied._

_Harry was struggling to keep his face even and not smirk or laugh as they were doing this. "I never claimed to be perfect Malfoy, that's you with the perfect skin and the perfect hair and the perfect... everything."_

_"Oh, please, with the green eyes that capture anyone who looks at them, and the hair that honestly might as well be a sentient being of its own, you're the damn perfect one." Draco's voice got louder._

_"Boys!" Hermione had put down her pile of books and was stepping up to them. _

_"He started it!" Both boys shouted, looking at her briefly before looking back at each other. _

_"I don't care who started it," Hermione snapped, and it had surprised both of them that she genuinely looked upset. "After /everything/, how can you two still be at each other's throats? What the hell do you even have to fight about at this stage?"_

_"Malfoy doesn't think he's perfect despite the... everything about him." Harry said, smirking a little now._

_"Harry no one is perfect... Wait what?" Hermione said, swinging to look between the two of them, Draco was looking at her perfectly innocently and Harry was failing to do the same, he ended up laughing before long. "What the hell is going on here?" _

_Harry stepped over to Draco and took his hand, entwining their fingers. _

_"Oh!" Hermione said. "That's great! Well, that could be great. Honestly, Harry, it's about time you admitted that your had feelings for Draco. But have you two thought about this properly?"_

"I had every right to question whether or not the two of you had thought it though, there's been a lot of hatred between the two of you for the last seven years." Hermione said, huffing a little.

"I mean by your fifth year I'm pretty sure the hatred was sexual tension," Ginny piped up and Ron swatted at her. The last thing he wanted was to hear his little sister saying words like sexual tension.

"We can uninvite you youngsters, you know," Draco said, coolly to Ginny. There were only a few there who weren't in their eighth year, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and a few others who were friends or siblings to those who were older.

"Just telling it how it is," Ginny said perfectly innocently.

"Are you claiming there was sexual tension between me and Harry while you were dating Harry," Draco pressed, raising an eyebrow,

"Yes!" The answer came from Ginny, Luna, Ron and Neville at the same time.

Harry and Draco shared a look but decided not to press the subject any further. Instead, Draco moved on to another couple. "The real question is how did this happen." He gestured at Ron and Hermione. "I honestly always thought Granger would end up with someone closer to her intelligence level."

Ron flushed again in irritation and embarrassment, but Hermione was quick to defend her boyfriend. "I may have forgiven you for your past dickishness, Malfoy, but that doesn't give you a pass to continue to be a dick." She snapped. "And I have no time for the idea that there is only one type of smart. I may be good with books and tests and remembering facts, but Ron is smart in other ways. Ron is a genius when it comes to chess which has been a literal lifesaver through the shit we have had to do.”

Draco wasn’t bitter with his next question; he was genuinely interested. “Chess skills helped you fight the dark lord?”

Ron was looking at Hermione in confusion, honestly not seeing how being able to play a game he had grown up playing had in any way helped with that fight.

“Yes,” Hermione said, seriously. “It’s about strategy. Chess is all about thinking ahead, about predicting what your opponent is going to do and having a plan for countering it, no matter what it might be. Ron transferred those skills into real life, Harry is impulsive, and I have no head for strategy, Ron was a game changer there. Also.” She jabbed Malfoy in the shoulder with an annoyed huff. “Before you insult him in future, consider the fact that he literally saved your sorry arse twice during that battle.”

Ron had steadily got redder and redder while Hermione was defending him, and it was clear that she had a lot more she could say regarding the situation, but Ron stopped her by kissing her. “You’re amazing,” He whispered against her lips.

“Ugh,” Draco huffed, and Harry kissed his cheek to appease him. “Alright, enough about you two. When’s Loony getting with someone.”

“Approximately the twelve of never,” Luna replied simply.

“What?” Draco asked, surprised. “Why not?”

“Because I’m aroace,” Luna said, her voice distant and airy in the same way it always was.

“Oh, fair enough,” Draco said and turned his attention to Neville. “Are you into guys?”

“I think so?” Neville said, shrugging a little. “I think I might be on the ace spectrum somewhere, but I’m bi otherwise, I think. Why?”

“Blaise has a crush on you.”

“Who has what now?” Neville spluttered, staring at Draco in shock, his face and words making it perfectly clear that he wasn’t able to comprehend what had just been said to him. “Blaise Zabini? Your friend Blaise? Slytherin Blaise?”

Draco wasn’t the only one who was struggling to hold back amused smiles at Neville’s shock here. “The one and only.” Draco confirmed. “So should I tell him you’re not interested then?”

“No!” Neville said quickly. “No… Um… I might be interested, I think. Yes. I am.”

“Good, I’ll tell him that then.” Draco said.

“Listen, guys, are fascinating as the stories of your love lives might be – hint, they really aren’t – shut up, the fireworks are about to start.” Ginny said, nodding towards the front where McGonagall stood with a few other professors.

And true enough, within moments of them going quiet, the sky was lit up in a variety of colours. The friends and partners stayed close to one enough, watching as rockets exploded into streams of red and gold and green and blue and yellow and purple.


End file.
